In the second episode of the third season of Hannibal, this show is still teasing me with a cliffhanger. HOW. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Hannibal.
For discussion of blood/gore, manipulation.
I STILL DON’T KNOW IF ALANA OR JACK SURVIVED. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS SHOW.
“Primavera” is a plodding, eerie journey for Will Graham. I wouldn’t say it’s the most exciting episode in Hannibal history. Indeed, it’s like we’re watching all of Will’s eight-month healing. He prods his own wound or imagines that he is being stabbed by the stag from the inside. He reaches out to the only other person who understand Hannibal and Hannibal’s modus operandi. He slowly makes his way to the one place that Lecter mentioned as a possible sanctuary of sorts. Through this, Will Graham appears as if in a haze. He never darts to any location, and I think that’s partially why “Primavera” feels so slow.
At the same time, I had to re-think my entire approach to this episode once it was revealed that Abigail had actually died that night eight months earlier. I had begun to formulate an entire analysis of this episode around complicity and manipulation, especially since there was an interesting parallel between Bedelia and Abigail. Now, however, I’m wondering if Abigail’s presence is meant as a commentary on Will’s state of mind. SERIOUSLY. What if that scene in the hospital room at the opening of the episode is Will’s subconscious questioning his loyalty of Hannibal? He’s asking himself whether he would return to Hannibal, whether he deserves the man’s respect, whether it’s worth it to even try and capture Hannibal, or if the best they can hope for is an existence without an ending.
Instead, Will seeks out an ending, whatever that ending might be. With no confirmation that Alana or Jack are alive (DID THAT ONE CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW NO ONE HAD TO DIE MEAN ABIGAIL OR THE OTHERS), he heads to Florence all by himself. I got the sense that he didn’t know what he was going to find there, and maybe this whole journey was a subconscious compulsion of his to seek out closure. If that’s the case, then Rinaldo Pazzi is a tease. He’s a man who understands Hannibal’s depravity, but does not understand the full extent of the man’s power. Again, Fuller and company are liberally borrowing from existing canon and reforming it into their own story, and it’s so cool to watch. Is Pazzi like the Pazzi in the original story? Is he consumed by greed and will Mason Verger play a part in all of this? I didn’t get the sense that he was all that identical to the original character, but this is his first introduction. He mostly speaks poetically of Hannibal’s guilt and brutality, and it’s clear he’s desperate to finally bring this man to justice, even if that means he’ll die in the process.
Like the last episode, that still hangs over everything. By the time we get to the catacombs sequence, I started thinking of the inevitable. Was Pazzi doomed for death from the start? How long would it take for Hannibal to realize that Will Graham was in Palermo? When would Will and Lecter have their big confrontation?
Of course, I’m not sure what the endgame is here. Does Will assume the role Clarice Starling did in Hannibal, or is there something else at play? So while I found “Primavera” a lot slower than I expected, I’m absolutely willing to see this out. We needed this set-up. We needed to see Will’s struggle with his loyalty to Hannibal and his fear that the stag was still inside of him. Hell, I think that’s still going to haunt him throughout season three! I wondered about that (and the purpose of a number of lines at the end of season two) and I feel like this episode sufficiently answers me. Will may despise what was done to him and his friends (WHERE ARE ALANA AND JACK), but he is still preternaturally obsessed with Hannibal Lecter. He is inescapable at this point, even if he escapes at the end of “Primavera.”
The scene in the catacombs is the episode’s most tense and most literal in terms of subtextual storytelling. Given the canon history Hannibal and the events we’ve seen in the show, Pazzi and Will are surrounded by death. It is around every corner. It lurks in the shadows, and it will make these men paranoid for one reason or another. While I suspect Pazzi won’t survive this conflict, I think that Will’s forgiveness of Hannibal is both a calculation and a genuine offer. It might bring Hannibal closer to him if Will is still determined to capture him and bring him home. It might bring Hannibal closer if Will wants back in Lecter’s life. That option is still here, and I can tell that this show is going to tease me with it.
I’M NOT READY.
The video for “Primavera” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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